E Sign Control

Estate taxes are what your family will pay the federal or state government after your death on the assets you have that pass on to your heirs. There is lots of confusion about the estate tax now, because the recent law (passed December 2010) increased the estate tax limit (exemption equivalent) to $5 million, but the law will automatically drop back into the world of unknown at the commencement of 2012. Of course, many families are not worried about paying estate taxes on Dad’s estate when he dies this year. However, don’t quit planning, because we could quickly get hit solidly with estate taxes after 2011, and the state estate taxes are alive and will in numerous states. Sadly, the high exemption equivalent amount has given middle class Americans a phony sense of security. The way most estate plans (trusts and wills) are worded will create a big state estate tax bill at the time when the first spouse in a couple dies. We didn’t worry about the 16% state taxes when the federal tax was 55%, so everybody’s estate planning documents were worded so that the federal estate tax would be eliminated or at least postponed until the surviving spouse in a couple died. Today, that old wording will create a large state estate tax to be paid at the time the first spouse in a couple passes away. The last thing a surviving spouse needs is to be forced to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for state estate taxes. Asset Protection speaker Lee R. Phillips tours the country teaching people about using the law and Estate Planning to their advantage.